Publication Date February 17, 2016 | Reuters

South Africa drought pushes 50,000 into poverty: World Bank

South Africa
Livestock drink from a drying river outside Utrecht, a small town in the northwest of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, November 8, 2015. Photo: Reuters, Siphiwe Sibeko
Livestock drink from a drying river outside Utrecht, a small town in the northwest of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, November 8, 2015. Photo: Reuters, Siphiwe Sibeko

South Africa's worst drought in over a century has pushed around 50,000 below the poverty line, the World Bank said on Wednesday.

"Around 50,000 people, we estimate, have been pushed below the national poverty line of 501 rand ($31.68) a month because of the drought," Catriona Purfield, program leader for South Africa told a parliamentary committee